Just When I Thought You Couldn't Get Any More Weird
by Happiness Outbreak
Summary: Looks can be deceiving. Michelle is an Inkling that is just going about a normal day, trying to rise above the ranks in Splat Zones. She meets a very intriguing Inkling on the battlefield. She doesn't expect to see him again, but he ends up meeting her in the drink shop later. Where will they go from there? I'm not dead edition.
1. Please Let Me Stay at B-

**Hey guys! I'm back and better than ever! College is out for now, and now I have time to work on stories. Splatoon came out, and it's pretty amazing. So amazing in fact that my Facebook page wanted me to write a story about it. So here it is, I hope you enjoy it! Stay Fresh~**

* * *

I took a second to step back and look around at my work. I brought my arm to my forehead, wiping off some sweat. "Awesome, the zone is finally covered and ours." I quickly looked around. "And not an Inkling is sight! I swear, if we, or rather I, don't win this match, I'm gonna get back down to a stupid C+ rank and I'm gonna be so pissed."

"Michelle!"

I sighed. "What is it Tomas?"

"I just spotted an Inkling super jump near our base! That means we've got at least two of them trying to flank us!"

"Can't you see I'm busy?!" I called to him. "Why don't you do it?"

"I'm taking care of their base, spreading ink to buy us a few seconds." He said, his tongue sticking out.

"Ugh, fine! I'll take care of it. Tell the others to take care of the zone." I told him.

"Yeah, I got you."

I reluctantly went back to our home base. Normally, I wouldn't be too hesitant to eliminate a couple guys or gals to prevent them from capturing the zone, but this was Urchin Underpass. Not one of my favorites, and the guys that know how to utilize this map to their advantage can be a handful. Plus I, for some reason, decided to use a charger, so that doesn't help my situation, more or less.

As I walked away from the central area and to my base, I saw some movement to my left near the gated area. I pretend not to notice and started to charge my Splatterscope. Using my peripheral vision, I noticed when he became a humanoid and quickly turned to him and directly shot him in the stomach. He exploded, leaving a big puddle of our teams color ink. I smiled. As much as I don't like the chargers, I have a pretty good aim, even without using the scope.

I heard a noise behind me. It sounded like chuckling. I began to charge my weapon again and I turned around to find another enemy on the higher level of the stage, but it quickly ran away.

"Oh no you don't!" I called out. I shot the area with my ink so I could follow him. Once I did so, I found him standing a few inches away from the ledge of the base, but it didn't seem like he was going to jump off. He turned and looked at me. 'Crap, he has a Blaster. There's no way I'm winning this fight with me staying here also.' I thought to myself. But I had no choice. I ran as fast as I could and readied an ink grenade. But as I neared him, he put up his hand and raised his pointer finger. I stopped for a second because I was really confused.

"What?" I asked confused. I still had my grenade ready.

He pointed at his watch and smiled.

"Huh?" I looked at my watch to see that their team had captured the zone and had five seconds left to win. "Aw dammit!" Before I knew it, the whistle rang and they had won. "Noo! I'm back down to C+. Great."

The inkling in front of me shrugged and held out his hand, clearly wanting a handshake.

I sighed and extended my arm out and shook his hand. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Good game I guess."

He smiled and gave a small laugh.

I took the time to get a quick look at him. Color didn't really matter because it changes every match, so I didn't really count his hair color, but it looked nice as a light green. He was wearing some Retro Specs, a pink skiing jacket, and some orange Hi-Horses. I'll admit, he pulls off this look very well. But his most unique feature was that he had the tentacle part of his hair in a ponytail instead of a bun like other guys have it. Besides one other guy I saw a while ago, he's the only one that has it like that.

I turned around and shrugged. "Oh well, I guess it's not so bad being on a four loss streak. Anyway, wanna head back? What's your nam-" When I turned back, he had already left. "Well then, I guess we'll never know haha."

* * *

I made my way over to Judd so I can get my results. It's always nice speaking to him. Even if he's a cat, he's pretty cool. He considers me a regular.

"Meow. (Ah, hey Michelle! It's always great to see you. Win or loss?)"

I sighed. "Hey Judd. It's a loss." I handed him my watch.

He took it with his pawn. "Mrow? (A loss huh? That's your fourth loss in a row.)" He explained. But it's not news to me. "Meow. (Let's see here... Wow, this is the third time you've been sent to C+. What's going on?)"

I put my arms up. "I guess I keep getting paired with people that don't take ranked battles seriously, aha!"

Judd smiled. "Mew. (Ha, maybe you're right. Here's your watch, it's been updated. You wanna get back in there?)" He asked me.

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm good for now. Thanks for the offer though. I'll see you later Judd!" I said as I patted his head. "I might be back later."

He purred. "Meow. (Well, I hope to see you soon Michelle! Have a cat-tastic day!)"

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. Him and his puns. As I started to walk away, I remembered something. I quickly went back to Judd. "Hey Judd! I need your help."

He cocked his head to the side. "Meow? (What's up?)"

"I need a name." I told him. "He was on the opposite team that I just faced. Retro Specs, pink skiing jacket."

"Rowr. (Oh, him. Sorry Michelle, I don't exactly have a name. He never puts one down.)" He explained.

I nodded. "I see. Well, thanks anyway."

"Meow! (Hey! I never said I didn't have something! He calls himself LX.)"

"LX? That's pretty weird, but whatever. At least I have a name now." He gave me some kind of look. Him being a cat, I couldn't tell what he was trying to say. "What?"

"Mrow? (Why did you want to know his name? You trying get with him or something? Haha!)"

I shook my head. "Very funny. I tried asking him earlier, but he ran off before he could answer, or hear the question for that matter." I explained. "Nothing more, so get that thought out of your head. I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

Judd nodded. "Meow. (Whatever you say Michelle. And I'm not surprised that he left fast. He's always the first one here to update his results. Now I've got another match to oversee. I've got to get a hand around here sometime!)"

"I'm sure you'll find another cat that's as good as you to judge." I told him. "I'll see you later Judd."

* * *

I checked my watch. 3:25. It's not even that late. I figured that I might as well head to the drink shop for a while to relax and head home afterwards. Today was exhausting. Not only have I already battled about eight times today, but I also had to deal with Spyke and his ridiculous prices. I ordered a three-star item, but he didn't tell me that there were two stats already on it. I managed to get the price down about 10,000 coins, but I still ended up paying 40,000 for pilot goggles. I'm just glad that pilot goggles look cool, and the two stats it had were defense ups.

Oh, I completely forgot to tell you about myself. My name is Michelle, as you can already see. Michelle Green. I'm 20 years old, and I've been battling since I was 14. That's also the age where I fully developed into a humanoid, so it made senses start battling as soon as I could. And yes, I'm a B- rank battler. Or, at least I was until I got knocked down a rank.

I only did Turf Wars until recently because I was always indecisive about starting Splat Zones. I felt that ranks really didn't matter. But about two weeks ago, I decided to give it a shot. Now I'm completely addicted to it. I still feel that rank doesn't matter, but the money is nice to get. It's so much more than Turf Wars will ever give me. And since I'm already level 20, money is the only thing that comes my way when I battle.

I went to my locker and took out my laptop bag and my regular clothes and went to the changing room. As much as I like my battle clothes, I don't like wearing it out in public. I mean, come on. I'd rather wear my black Arrow Bans than a bicycle helmet. But I took out the head-strap from the glasses because I thought it looked tacky. And the same thing goes with my work boots. My school shoes are just fine.

After I was finished, I put my battling clothes in the locker and made my way out of the tower. I didn't have to walk far, because the drink shop was directly to the left of the tower.

"Hey Michelle!" I heard from behind me.

I turned around to find Tomas behind me. "Oh, hey Tomas. What's up?"

"Ah, nothing much." He simply said. "That loss was rough huh?" I stared at him. "What? Look, I kept my ground and tried to keep the guys away from the zone, but this guy with a blaster took us all out and captured it. He was really fast and had a really good shot. If it wasn't for my stat that boosts movement speed, I would have gone down with my other teammates." He explained.

"Wait, did this guy have a pink skiing jacket?" I asked him

Tomas nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"I ran into him right before the battle ended." I answered. "Judd said he doesn't have a name, but he calls himself LX."

Tomas seemed taken aback. "LX? I heard that he's one of the fastest Inklings to reach A rank?"

"A!? What the hell was he doing in our battle then?!" I asked, very surprised.

"Rumor is that he is at B-." He told me.

I was genuinely surprised. No wonder why our team got wiped out. "Uh-huh. Anyway, wanna get some drinks with me?"

He smiled. "You know I am! Let's go."

"Haha, what do you mean let's go?" I asked jokingly. "We're practically already here."

"We're not inside, are we?"

"Oh, shut up."

Tomas laughed. "Ah, just as spunky as always. I'll get you a drink, my treat."

"Aw, thank you Tomas! You're so sweet." I admired. I leaned up to his ear. "I hope you can afford my thirst." I whispered.

"Psh, I'm pretty sure I can." All of a sudden, a musical tone was playing. "Ah, excuse me Michelle." He took out his phone and answered it. "Hello?...Yeah, what's up?...Uh-huh...Oh, I'll get going then. See you in a bit."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He sighed. "I have to get going. Parents are having trouble with something. Sorry that we couldn't hang out."

"No no, it's fine." I reassured. "If you're busy, I understand."

"Awesome. Here." He said as he took out ten gold coins from his pocket. "This is for you."

I stepped back in surprised. "T-That's 10,000 coins. I can't take all that. A drink only costs around 30."

"Don't worry about it, it's a gift." He said as he placed it in my hand.

I blushed a bit. "Well, thanks Tomas."

Tomas began to run when he saw the train at the station. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow Michelle!"

"Wait!" I called to him. "What's the gift for?!"

"Going down to B-!" He yelled back.

"Oh my god, you jerk!" I snapped. I heard him laughing in the distance. Tomas being Tomas, as usual.

I stepped inside the drink shop and went to the front counter. "One large root beer please."

"Coming right up." The Inkling said. "That will be 20 coins."

I took out two bronze coins from my bag. "Here you are." I said as I placed the coins on the counter.

She took them from the counter. "Thanks. Do you want your receipt?"

"No thanks."

"Very well. One second please." She said, smiling. She grabbed a cup from behind her and went over to the soda machine. She poured my root beer into the cup and handed it to me. "Here you are. Have a wonderful day."

"Thanks, you too!" I said happily.

I took my drink and looked for an empty table. Once I did, I sat down and took my laptop out of my bag. I took a sip of my drink. "Ahh, that hits the spot. Alright, time to play some games." I booted up my computer, but I was surprised to find that it was just locked. "Oh yeah, I left it on since last night. How much battery do I have?... 78, that's not that bad. Alright, let's have some fun!"

As I was about to run the game, something caught my eye. An Inkling in a black hoodie entered the drink shop and the girl behind the counter quickly made a drink for him. He took out some money and paid for his drink.

"Thanks man. Hope you have a great day! I'll see you next time." She told him.

He nodded and went to a table.

'That's pretty weird.' I thought to myself. 'He didn't even talk to her and she already knew what to give him. He must be a regular or something.' I let go of the thought and put on my designer headphones.

DING.

Sigh, now what? I checked the messages in my inbox. _Hey._ I looked at the name. LazyExample. Don't know you, don't care.

I decided that the games could wait, and I just opened up the music program. I took a sip of my root beer and played a Squid Sisters song. I bobbed my head back and forth, enjoying the smooth beats of their music.

I looked up and found that that Inkling was staring at me. I couldn't see his eyes cause he was wearing some tinted shades. When he noticed that I was looking back at him, he quickly turned away and looked at his laptop. Weirdo.

I was about to go back to what I was doing, but I wanted to see what this guy's deal was. He reached into his bag and brought out some gold studio headphones. Oh, I didn't know they made them in a gold fashion. He must have done it himself. He pulled his hood down and put them on.

As quickly as I could, I put my head down and hid my face behind my laptop. Green hair, tinted shades, that ponytail. It was LX! I should have known from him not talking when he bought his drink.

Wait. Why am I hiding? He's just a guy, and one I don't know at that. I picked my head up and resumed what I was doing.

DING.

I had a feeling I knew who it was. I checked the screen to find that I was right. _Hey, thanks for answering._

 _I don't know who you are. Stop messaging me._ I typed in. I took a gulp of my drink, expecting for the messages to stop.

 _Look up._

Look up? I did so without thinking and looked around. LX was slowly waving his hand with a small smile on his face. _This is you?_

 _Yeah, my name couldn't give it away?_

I stared at his screen name. LazyExample. LX. Oh my god! I'm an idiot. _Well, I guess I know now._

 _Yep. Your name is Michelle right?_

 _Yeah, why?_

 _I just wanted to say that you did good out there._

I chuckled. _Well, our team still lost._

 _But still, I could see that you really take these ranked battles seriously. And your work with a charger is impeccable._

 _Thanks._ I typed it in. _Hey, can I ask you something?_

 _Sure, anything._

I paused. I was going to ask why he started talking to me, but that seemed a little rude. _Why don't you talk?_ That seems like a normal question.

 _I talk. Just not as much as people want me to. If you want, I can go over there with you, and we could talk. I don't mind._

Huh. I suppose I don't mind talking with him. _Yeah, sure. But you really didn't answer my question._

 _Oh yeah, haha. Well, it's for personal reasons._

 _Mind telling me?_

 _I'll think about it. If we become friends or something, I guess I wouldn't mind too much._ There was a long pause. _But I'm not entirely sure if I wanna be friends._

What's this guy's deal? _Why not?_

There was another long pause. _Let's just say that I think that you might be cute._

I didn't know how to take what he said. _So am I cute, or not?_

 _That's not the point I was trying to make!_

 _Just get over here so we can talk._ I typed.

 _Alright, one second._ I looked over to see him packing his stuff into his bag. He stood up, and I could visibly see him sigh. Was he nervous or something? I'll find out soon enough. He slowly walked over to me and sat in the chair next to me. "Um…Hi."

Whoa. His voice was soft, and I mean really soft. He must be really nervous then. "Hey. What should I call you? LX seems kind of a handful to say. How about just L?"

He nodded. "That's fine." He looked around nervously. "Aha, sorry…I'm just a little nervous. I don't really speak. At all."

"It's okay." I told him. "We are just talking for the first time, so I don't blame you. So," I continued, "I hear that you used to be A rank?"

"Yeah, I used to be." He answered. "As you might have heard, I was one of the fastest to reach that rank. But I'm sure you know how ranked battles go."

I laughed. " Yeah, get paired with idiots and they take you down with them."

"Nicely put, haha!" He said laughing. His laugh was nice, not too loud, still soft, but genuine. I think I can become friends with him no problem.

Wait. "You said something about not wanting to be friends. Care to explain?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Oh, you picked up on that huh? I don't know, being honest."  
"What do you mean?"

"Never mind that for now." He said, pretty bluntly at that. "How about a little wager?"

I stared at him. "What kind of wager?"

LX smiled. "Let's head to the battle dojo. We'll go a round. And let's make it interesting."

I nodded. "It sounds interesting already. How much money are you putting down?"

"It's not about money." He explained. "Whoever wins can decide what the other person will do. How does that sound?"

So that's what he meant by making it interesting. More practice for me. "Alright, deal." I told him, holding my hand out. He shook it. "Even though you used to be A rank, I've only ever lost twice in the battle dojo. I doubt I'll lose."

* * *

"I can't believe it!" I shouted in frustration. "I lost!"

LX nodded. "Yep, but it was really close. You only lost by one point!"

I scoffed at him. "It was your stupid mine! Mines are so cheap!"

"Aha, maybe they are," He said, holding back a laugh, "But I could tell that you were having some problems. Blackbelly isn't your favorite map is it?"

I shook my head in agreement. "Yeah…It's those ramps that always get to me. I'm just decent at the map."

"We could train some other time if you'd like. It would help if you knew some strategies for the maps." He offered.

"Yeah, sure." I answered. "I'll really appreciate it. By the way, what kind of stats are on your clothes?" I asked curiously. "No way a .52 shoots that long and recharges that fast!"

He smiled. "On my tinted shades, there are four defense-ups, my black hoodie has four ink savers, and my Hi-Horses have three ink refill speed-ups and one respawn time up."

I stared at him in shock. "No way you got those randomly!"

LX put his hands up. "You got me. I rerolled the stats on my shoes once. I was hoping for four of the refillers, but I like keeping one respawn, so I can get in the action a little faster."

"This is unbelievable! You must have super amazing luck if the only thing you rerolled was your shoes." I exclaimed.

"Yeah. So, onto more important matters." He said with a mischievous look on his face. "You lost."

I shrugged. "So?"

"I won the wager. Did you forget already?!"

"Aha, yeah, kind of." I said, chuckling nervously. "So…What do you want?"

He blushed. "Let's go out on a date."

"…What?"


	2. I Go on that Date or Whatever

**New chapter! I couldn't resist** **immediately making another chapter of this story, even though I have two others I'm currently on, aha! I should get working on those too. BUT REGARDLESS, here's a new chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

 **PSA: SPLATOON HAS TAKEN OVER MY LIFE. 100 HOURS IN. SEND HELP.**

* * *

"W-What?" I asked again, startled. "Why d-do you wanna go on a date with me?"

He laughed, obviously not caring about how I feel about the situation. "Because the rules told you that you have to."

"Not the answer I was looking for!" I snapped.

"Alright alright, just calm down okay?" He said in a calm, sweet voice. Ugh, I hate to admit it, but it's comforting when he does it like that. "The reason why is cause I think you look nice, and you seem really cool to be around. I'm not saying we have to go out or anything official like that, it's just a small date."

I sighed. I scratched the back of my head. "Yeah, I guess you're right... And since I'm pretty much entitled by the laws of a bet to go with you, I have no choice. But if you pull any funny business," I started to say with a hint of annoyance, "I swear, I'll make sure that we won't ever talk again."

He smiled sweetly. "Aha, like I said, it's nothing too big, I'm not asking you to be my girlfriend. It's just a date. Just think of it like two friends hanging out, cause that's really all it is, essentially."

"Alright. So...where did you want to go then?" I asked curiously.

LX shrugged. "I don't know. Where do you want to go?"

The question threw me off. If he made that wager, then he already had wanted to go on a date with me. No, that's not it, we just met. Well regardless, I sort of had an idea where I wanted to go. "There's this new fast food place near here. I think it's called 'Seaside Burgers'. Do you want to go there? Or is it underwhelming as a first date?"

He nodded in agreement. "That sounds nice. Tonight at 7pm?"

"Tonight?!" I questioned, maybe a little louder than I wanted to say it. Why tonight? Did he want this date that desperately?

"If tonight doesn't work, I'm down to do it another day." He told me.

I shook my head quickly. "No no! Tonight is fine. I was just surprised that you wanted to do it today."

He smiled again. "Alright, Seaside Burgers at 7. I'll see you there Michelle." He said as he put his hood on and walked to the train station. He turned around and waved at me.

I instinctively waves back. Man, today was a weird day, and it's not even over yet. I checked my watch. It read 5:30. I might as well go home and change into something nice. Even though it's not really a date, it's still has the term 'date' attached to it, so I'll play along. It wouldn't hurt to make a good impression on him either. Who knows? Maybe something good will come out of this 'date'.

* * *

"Hey Chell, you've been staring into your closet for about 20 minutes." I heard from behind me. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing. I'm just deciding on what I should wear."

My brother laughed. "It's almost late, where are you going?"

"On a date." I simply said, still staring into my closet.

"Ooooh, Chell has a date?!" He coaxed. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Oh shut up Kyle." I snapped. I turned to face him. "Look, I didn't agree to this date...Okay, I technically did, but it was because I lost a bet."

He chuckled. "Damn, it must have been a bet you couldn't do if you lost. Anyway," He continued, "If you're having trouble finding out what to wear, just grab something randoml-"

"Aha!" I interrupted. "I know what I'll wear!"

"Or completely ignore me." He said sarcastically. "That's an option too."

I smiled. "Sorry Kyle, you should have told me sooner. What color do you think I should go as?"

He shrugged as he laid on my bed and stared at the ceiling. "I don't know. What about pink? That kind of seems like a no-brainer."

"Yeah, pink is a nice color."

"So who is this guy anyway?" He asked, curiosity obviously in his voice. "What's his name?"

"I don't know."

"Wait," He paused, "You don't know his name? Seems sketchy doesn't it?"

I shook my head as I took out a small dress. It wasn't too flashy, and it didn't look like something I would wear on a real date. Well, this was technically a real date, but just between friends. I don't even know the guy well enough. "I don't know his name, but I do have something to call him. He calls himself LX."

"Wait, did you just say LX?" He asked.

"Yeah, why."

"I've heard he's hiding something big. It must be tied with why he doesn't talk." He explained.

I scoffed at him. "Well, he was talking perfectly fine with me. He has such a soft, cute voice. He has this kind of mysterious look to him, cause he wears jackets all the time and wears shades, that sort of thing."

"It sounds like you really like him then." He exclaimed.

Wait a minute. Did I just say all that? What am I thinking? Whatever, let me just get this date over with. "I'll see you later Kyle, I'm headed out after I get dressed. Can you excuse me while I do?"

"Uh, sure Chell." He said as he stepped out. He stopped at the doorway. "Just try to have some fun on that date. It's been a while that you've had a good time, and I saw that spark when you were talking about that guy. I don't know how you feel about this entire situation, but regardless, see where this date takes you."

* * *

I looked around, standing outside Seaside Burgers. My brothers' words were still bouncing around in my head. How did I really feel about this situation? I guess I still feel like I don't need a relationship right now, but it wouldn't hurt to have one. LX seems like a really cool guy, and I don't have that many guy friends to begin with, so that's something. Other than his voice and his attitude towards things, I don't have much to say on terms of what I like about him. Actually, when I think about it, I don't really know much about him. Kyle is right, he is hiding something. But what? That's the question. I guess I'll find out soon enough, maybe tonight if he's talkative.

I continued to look around. Where is he? I checked my watch. 7:05. Okay, calm down Michelle, it's only been five minutes. There's no need to worry or anything like that. This was his bet, I doubt he would flake out, especially if he-

"Hey Michelle!" I heard. I turned to the left to find LX waving his hand, walking towards me.

My heart raced a bit. Calm. Down. It's not a big deal. "Hey L. Um..."

He tilted his head slightly to the right. "Yeah?"

"You're...practically wearing the same thing as earlier today." I told him.

"Yeah." He went to the doors of the restaurant and opened them for me. "I don't really have many clothes, except for my sweaters and jackets. I love to wear those. The baggy feeling just feels really good, you know?." I stayed silent. He looked over to me and saw what I was wearing. "And you, you look lovely. I didn't expect you to dress up like this."

"And I didn't expect you to stay dressed like that." I said. I may have put a bit more annoyance behind that phrase.

"I'm sorry, did you want me to dress nice also?" Normally, that kind of sentence would be coming out sarcastically, but he said it really genuine, full of emotion. He put his head down, obviously saddened. "Sorry Michelle. I...just assumed that since this wasn't much of a big deal, I might as well wear what I usually do."

I patted his back. "Don't worry about it." He picked up his head and I flashed him a smile. "It's also kind of my fault for expecting you to. It's fine L. Now," I pointed behind me, "Let's go find us a table."

He gave that sweet smile. "We have to go order first, remember?"

"Haha, oh yeah!" I exclaimed. "How could I forget the main thing?"

* * *

"Oh man! They weren't kidding when they said that this place has good burgers!" I said, stuffing my face. "It's so good!"

He nodded in agreement. "I know right? I wouldn't be surprised if this place becomes a hot spot."

"Mm, so," I said, with food still in my mouth, "What do you wanna talk about on this date?"

LX rolled his eyes. "First of all, I think it's very ladylike of you to talk with your mouth full."

"Don't judge me." I said, taking another big bite.

He laughed. "And secondly, I don't really know. I don't know you, how about we know each other better?"

"Mm," I started, "That reminds me, why LX?"

"Why what?"

"Why LX?" I repeated. "What made you choose the letters LX?"

He took a sip of his drink. "Oh, that. It's just two letters from my real name."

Huh, letters from his name. But why hide it? "Care to elaborate? Is it first, last? Both from the first name, or both from the last?"

"That's a lot of questions." He said. "Again, I don't exactly feel...what's the word? Comfortable? Yeah, that sounds right. The thing is..." He got quiet all of a sudden. "Sigh, how do I put this? I just feel really shy about things."

Shy? What does he have to be shy about? This guy, at least from what I know, is a monster on the field. Well, I could see why he would say a thing like that, I saw him not even speaking earlier. And he has such a soft voice, I guess that comes from the fact that he's shy. "Well, if that's your reason, I shouldn't pressure you about it then. It's only right that I respect your privacy."

LX looked surprised. "Really? Well, thanks Michelle. I didn't think that you'd be that understanding. I know people that tried to drag the information from me."

I smiled. "I'm not like others. You'll find that out soon enough." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Haha, I guess I will then huh?" Man, his laugh is so great.

"Yep." I nodded. "I'm almost the same way you are. I don't have many friends, due in part to how awkward I am, but I have at least _some_ friends."

He took a fry and put in his mouth. "I don't think you're very awkward. You talk just fine with me. And if you are as awkward as you say," He continued to say, "I can't see it. I should know, I'm the shy one, aha."

Man, this burger is really good, I've got to come here again soon. I stared at my fries. "I just don't understand the need to hide something."

He sighed. "I feel like I've dug a hole, and I'm just making it deeper. I believe that everyone has something to hide, I just hide more than I want to. One day everything is gonna come out, and I hope that nothing changes." He took out the straw from the drink and stabbed a french fry. "One day, I'm going to slip up,and I might regret it."

What's he talking about? "It's okay, I don't think that what you've done is much of a big deal." I grabbed his hand and held it in mine. "We're still gonna stay friends, even after what might happen, alright?" I then slapped his hand.

"Ow!" He snapped. "That kinda hurt you know." He said as he rubbed his hand.

"Hehe, sorry." I chuckled. "Now, let's continue on with this date, with no more sad talk, okay?"

"Well, if you insiiiist." He teased. "I guess we can."

* * *

The rest of the night went really well actually. I'm genuinely surprised at just how good it went. After learning that he is shy, we talked about battling for a bit. I told him how I just got into ranked battles, and he said that he was the same way. He also gave me advice for the higher levels, saying how I should completely change up my strategies cause that will give me an edge in the competition.

After that, we just talked about random things, like how we were doing, what we liked. You know, standard date stuff. I was surprised to find out that we both like a lot of the same things. I don't know, I may end up really liking this guy.

"So yeah," He continued, "When it comes to making food, I'm not exactly the best. I almost burned my house down haha!"

I laughed alongside him. "Aha, maybe you should learn not to burn the house down. I could help you out if you'd like."

"Sounds fun! I'll make sure to find you whenever I need help." He said. He checked his watch. "Wow! Time goes by fast when you're having fun. It's already almost nine."

"Oh man, I need to get home soon!" I exclaimed. "There's this show in tonight, it's about video games from the 90's."

LX nodded. We threw our trash away and stepped outside. He turned to face me. "Then I guess this date is over. Did you enjoy yourself?"

"As much as I didn't want to go on one earlier, I'm really glad I did." I answered. "Look, I want to get real with you, other than going out to battle, I've just stayed home. I'm really happy that I was able to get out and do something fun with you. So thanks."

Even though it was night time, I was able to see him blush. "It's no problem Michelle. I had a lot of fun also. Hey, maybe, if you want to, we can do this again sometime."

"Hey, I won't be complaining next time." I told him, holding back a chuckle.

"Good to hear! Well, goodnight Michelle. I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he turned around and started to walk away.

"Wait!" I called out to him.

He turned around. "Hm?"

I paused for a second. Why DID I call him? "You're not gonna...you know, try to do anything romantic?" What am I saying? "Normally, guys like to kiss or whatever when a date ends. Why didn't you?"

He just simply smiled. "Just for that fact that I know that you're thinking about things. I overheard when you were talking to Judd about not looking for a relationship. I respect that. But if you wanna make this into something, just tell me the next time. If not, I'm perfectly fine staying friends."

I nodded. "Fair enough." This guy. This guy is really something. He so much more different that other guys I've known before. "Did you want to at least hug then?"

"Yeah, come here." He said, smiling and blushing a bit. He opened his arms.

I walked over to him. My heart was racing a bit. Calm down Michelle, it's just a hug. I accepted his embrace and put my head on his chest. He's warm, really warm. It must be because of that jacket. I closed my eyes. This was really nice. I could see us being like this for at least a few minutes, with no worries at all. And- Wait? I took a small whiff of his jacket. Was that...perfume? No, that's definitely perfume. Squid Sisters brand, there's no mistaking it. I have the same one at home. "Hey L?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you wearing perfume?" I asked.

"No reason." He said, sounding a bit sarcastic. "I think it just smells really nice."

"Well, you're right that it smells nice." I told him.

"You done hugging yet?" He chuckled. "You've been grasping at me for about a minute."

I nodded as I let go of him. "Sorry, I just really like hugs."

LX shook his head. "Don't worry about it. So, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, I can't wait."

* * *

I laid on my bed staring at the ceiling. I'm just upset that I had to end up lying to LX about a show being on. If I stayed any longer, then I would have probably been the one that would have insisted on kissing. Sigh, he's just really amazing. We have a lot in common, and I haven't meet a guy like him before. It's like he knows exactly what to say after I say something. And if I'm not mistaken, he really embraced me during that hug. I really want to say that he likes me, but who knows right now?

You know what? I'm gonna tell him tomorrow that I like him. He did say to after all, after I thought about things. And then I want that rematch in the battle dojo. There's NO way I should have lost that, even if it's by one damn balloon!

"Hey Chell," I heard my brother call from outside, "There's this show on TV that I think you might like."

"What is it about?" I asked.

"It's about video games from the 90's." Kyle said.

"WHAT?!" No way there's a show on about 90's video games! I lied about that! I ran out my room and saw what was on the TV. "No way..."


	3. Things Take A Weird Turn, Why?

**Wow, it's been a while! Sorry about that, I had some stuff to deal with, including writers block. I kind of feel that this chapter was a bit rushed, but upcoming chapters will have a lot more development to them. In the meantime, enjoy this new chapter of** **Just When I Thought You Couldn't Get Any More Weird! Stay fresh~**

* * *

"Morning Michelle, you're here early." LX said.

"I know right." I agreed, looking around Inkopolis. "To be completely honest, I don't know why I'm here this early." Something wasn't right. Inkopolis seemed a little off. I know it's usually bustling around this time, more or less, but it was only 7 A.M. I decided to let the feeling go, it was probably nothing.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, looking a bit concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing." I answered. "I'm just a little tired probably."

He chuckled. "Too tired to do a quick turf war?"

Oh, he wants to do this already? Time to put him in his place. "I think that sounds like a challenge."

"It is a challenge." He said as he walked up to me and rested his arm on my shoulder. "Unless of course, we get put on the same team. There's that too."

"Even then," I responded, "I'll still ink more turf than you."

He patted my back. "Then let's get going! We'll see what happens after that battle dojo fight."

"I'm still calling that mine cheap!" I snapped. "I would have won that!"

He rolled his eyes as we entered the main tower. "Sure you would have. Now do you wanna use the clothes you're wearing right now?"

I shook my head. "As if I'm gonna be using these. These clothes have such horrible stats." As much as I really like the look of the clothes I'm wearing right now, they have some pretty bad stats. That goes for almost everything that looks nice. I think I gave more money to Spyke for upgrading my slots and rerolling than I have given money to Sheldon, Crusty Sean, Jellonzo, and Annie put together. "Let me just go to the locker and change. I'll be out in a sec."

"Alright." He told me. "I'll be waiting for you inside." He turned around and went into the waiting area.

As I walked over to the lockers, my mind was racing for some reason. There wasn't anything going on at the moment that would make me feel like this. This was just a friendly battle. But still, something really feels off. I can't exactly pinpoint what is making me feel like this, but it's a little unsettling. Whatever, if I get my head in the game maybe it will go away. Hopefully.

I got my clothes on and headed back to the waiting room where LX was waiting for me. "You ready Michelle?"

I chuckled. "You know I am. But let's see if we're partners or rivals."

"I already asked Judd for us to be on the same team." He told me. "It would be good practice for us to learn our strategies from each other."

There was some banging behind me. I turned around to find Judd hitting the machine that controls the turf wars. "Mew... (This infernal machine keeps bugging out on me...Aha! There we go.)" He turned to the eight of us. "Meow. (Alright, it's going to be you four against you four. The map is going to be Urchin Underpass.)"

LX nudged my shoulder. "Heh, here we go again huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "I think Judd is making me play on that map on purpose." I looked at Judd and I saw him slightly chuckle. "See, look! He did choose it on purpose!"

"Haha, I'm sure he's just trying to get you used to the map." He suggested. "And besides, it _is_ in the map rotation. You'll have to get better at the map some time or other."

"Whatever." I simply said. "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

I stood at the respawn area, next to LX and my other teammates, waiting for the horn to go off. But...I just can't shake this feeling at all. It's getting ridiculous. "Hey L."

He turned to me. "Yeah Michelle? What's up? Still nervous about this map?" He asked, obviously joking but having some genuine concern behind it. Weird combination.

"Do you have this odd feeling?" I asked him. He tilted his head in confusion. "Like, do you feel like something is off? Like something doesn't belong?" I explained to him.

He looked around. "Well, maybe. The atmosphere of the Plaza felt a bit off, but not by much. Did that help?"

I sighed. "Not really, but I'm glad I'm not the only one. Thanks."

He nodded. "Yeah, no problem. Now let's win this alright? Gotta get me a little bit of money after my spending spree, haha."

I chuckled. "Maybe I should not try my hardest then aha!"

"You better not!" He said, laughing.

There was a loud horn that went blaring through the arena. My teammates went off, shooting their guns at floor, already getting to work spreading our color ink.

"Hey, go on ahead guys, I've got the base!" I called out. Wait. Oh my god, why did I choose the rapid blaster? I hate this one. Well, whatever. I'm gonna with this bad gun and-

"Meow! (Michelle!)"

I turned around to find Judd running at me. "Yeah, what's up Judd?"

"Meow! (You've got to stop fighting now! Tell the others to stop also!)"

"Hey, hey! Calm down and tell me what happened." I told him, trying to relax him.

"Meow! (There was a malfunction with the breakers! The arena is completely shut down!)"

It took me a second to realize what he was implying. "Wait, you don't mean..."

"Mew! (Yes I do mean! Respawn is down! Everything is down! Quick, go tell the others!)"

I went on my watch and flipped through my teammates. LX was in way too deep, I can't tell him yet without risking myself getting hurt too. My other teammates were still capturing mid, okay. I super jumped straight to them.

As soon as I landed, I called to them. "Hey you guys! We have to stop shooting! Respawn is down!"

"What? Why, what happened?" One of them said.

I ran towards the enemy base. LX wasn't too far away. "Power outage! I'm going after LX! Tell the others and try not to get shot. "

Crap. Crap crap. I hope nothing happens to him. Please, just let him be okay...

I swam through my color ink to find LX shooting near the fenced area. "L, stop shooting!"

He turned to me. "What's wrong?"

I ran to him. "Just stop! Respawn isn't working right now!"

He put his gun down. "That's not good. Alright, let's just head back before-"

Nononono. It couldn't have been... I turned around to find an inkling standing on the higher platform. I knew that sound came from a Nozzlenose. I look at LX to fink that he had been shot in his side. "L, no! Are you okay?! Let me see if you're okay?!"

"Why are you worried if he's okay?" The inkling asked. "He'll just respawn right back." Inkling came behind him and whispered in his ear. "No way, really?... Er.." He pointed at us.

"It's okay, I-I'll take care of him, just get b-back okay?..." I said, my voice shaking a bit. I looked into L's eyes. "You okay? I'll make sure I get you to a hospital."

He shook his head. "Michelle, it's okay."

I shook my head, saddened and enraged. "No it's not! You could die!" I started to cry.

He picked up his hand and wiped a tear off my face. "Really Michelle, it's okay. Can you get off of me a sec?" I did what he said, and he stood up, apparently unfazed by what just happened. He put his finger through his sweater. "I told you I like baggy sweaters. The shots grazed through me. I'm perfectly fine."

I saw that it did appear that the shot did graze him. I went up to him and hugged him. "Oh my god, I'm so happy you're okay! But we should check if you didn't actually get hit."

He turned around. "No it's okay, I'll just change when I get to my locker."

"No! We're going to check if you're okay!" I yanked at his sweater.

"Michelle!" He snapped. "I said...it's...okay!" He said, struggling to keep it on.

In the end, I won, and his sweater was finally off. "There. Now was that so hard? Now let me see if you're okay..." As I checked his side, I noted how different he looked with his sweater off. Wow, he was so thin, and he had a small figure. He must be really fit if he can maintain that size. "Looks like you're fine, just like you said. Now come on, let's head back." I said as I turned around. I looked back to find that he wasn't following me. "Hey, what's wrong? Still in shock that you almost got shot? Aha!"

He still had his back to me, and he put his head down. "Are you happy?"

What? What was he talking about? "Happy about what?"

I heard him sigh. He started to undo his hairband and let his tentacles fall. He put his hand in his hair and ruffed it up a bit. He finally turned around, and when he did, I was speechless. "About this."

He looked so different with his hair down and his hair in the style of a girl. Or rather, I should say that he is a girl! "So... You're a girl then? Is that what you're telling me?"

* * *

I opened my eyes. Why did that have to happen? All I can think about was LX showing me that he was a girl. So that's what he was hiding from me all this time. Maybe he had a good reason. But that doesn't explain why I'm a little annoying. Yeah, he lied to me, but he had a purpose, right? Right?

"Oh, you're finally awake Michelle." I heard from behind me.

I turned around to find my mom looking over me. "Hmm, yeah, morning mom."

She chuckled. "Morning? Sweetie, it's one AM. You slept right through that show you wanted to watch. Luckily for you, they're showing it again right now. The TV is still on."

No, it couldn't have been a dream right? "Hey mom, is it still the 17th?"

"Well, it's technically the 18th, since it's one in the morning, but yeah, it was the 17th a little over an hour ago. Why?"

"No reason." Damn, so it was a dream. Ugh. Why would I think he's a girl anyway? In my dream at least. "Hey mom, I'm gonna go to sleep again in a bit, I just wanna be on my computer for a bit."

"Alright honey, it's no problem." She said smiling. "Just don't make too much noise because everyone else is asleep, including me soon. Night Michelle."

"Night mom." I went up to my room and closed the door softly. I lifted up the screen on my laptop to find that it was on sleep mode. I seriously need to turn it off so it doesn't mess up my battery. I logged in and went to my messenger app. Of course everyone is offline- Wait, there was one person on. LazyExample. What's he doing on so late? "Hey, what are you doing up so late?"

It took him not time to respond back. _What are you doing up so late?_

 _I just woke up!_ I typed. I paused for a second. _And stop laughing! I know you're laughing!_

 _Oh, you're good. Okay okay, I'll stop laughing. And what made you wake up at this hour? Bad dream?_

 _Yeah, bad dream._

 _Tell me what happened. If you don't mind, at least._

I sighed. _I dreamed that the power at the tower went out and the respawn mechanism wasn't working. You got shot, but it grazed you because of those big sweaters you always wear._

 _Well, everything turned out good. What was the problem then?_

I continued to type. _I forced your jacket off to see if you were okay and it turned out that you were actually a girl._

There was a slight pause, before I could see that he was typing again. _Haha really? So the shock woke you up then._

 _Let me ask you._ I didn't press enter yet. How can I word this without being too blunt? _Are you really a guy, or a girl?_ Wow, way to go on not being too blunt me.

 _I suppose that question would come up._ He said. I saw that he was still typing. _I'll answer that question no problem._

There was a long pause. I saw that he wasn't typing anymore, but he was definitely still online. _Well?_

 _Haha, oh right, you wanted an answer. I'll answer you with a cup of coffee tomorrow morning._

No way he was gonna do this to me right now. _Are you serious?_

 _Absolutely. It will be fun hanging out. Just try to get some more sleep okay? I still care about you. Night Michelle._

He went offline right after that. No, I needed something. Something else for him to answer. _Wait! L, are you still there?_

He came back online. _Yeah?_

I blushed and got nervous. _You like me a lot, don't you?_

 _Yeah, I do like you a good amount. Still thinking?_

 _Maybe._ Nah, not maybe. That date went amazing. He's amazing. I definitely want more. More of that. More of him. _No never mind. Yes, I totally want to go out with you._

 _Haha awesome. I'm really glad you made up your mind. I'll see you tomorrow so we can talk about things. Goodnight Michelle._

 _Night L._ I typed right before I closed my laptop. I went to my bed and got under the covers without changing. So, I ended up saying yes to him. We're officially going to go out now. I closed my eyes. I'm glad... He's really cool, and there's no doubt that he likes me too... I've got to get some sleep, long day tomorrow...

* * *

"Ughhh... Stop looking so happy.." I mumbled.

"Oh, Michelle. You... look like you didn't sleep." He told me. "I got you a coffee. Just drink up and you'll wake up some more."

I took it from his hand as I sat down across from him. I put my head down on the table. "Thanks."

It's too early. 6 AM is way too early for me. I should have agreed on a time last night before he straight up called me at 5:30. I hate the sun, and I hate everything that looks happy. At least I have a coffee to drink.

"So, let's get down to business." He started.

I lifted my head up and took a sip of my coffee. "AH, HOT! Dammit!" That seriously hurt... "You didn't tell me it was still hot!"

"It's coffee." He simply said. "Coffee is hot."

I laughed my pain off. "Haha, anyway, what business are you talking about?"

"What do you wanna talk about first?" He asked. "My gender or your love for me?"

I stared at him. "I see you holding back your laugh! Be serious! And take off your shades please, I'd like to see your eyes."

He smiled. "In due time." She simply said. "Well, since you didn't answer, I guess I'll answer your question. But first," He continued, "What made you ask?"

I was taken aback by the question. Why _did_ I ask him that? I trust him, no doubt. "That bad dream I had just made me question things. I'm still shaken up by the whole 'you almost dying' thing."

LX nodded. "Completely understandable. Hell, I'd probably do the same in your shoes. Well, here, I'll tell you my gender, since you're wondering." He started to unzip his jacket in front of me. "Does this answer your question?"

I looked at him. It kind of surprised me that he was thinner than I expected him to be. But then I noticed something "You…You're a girl!"

She chuckled a bit. She undid her hair and let he tentacles fall down. She took off her shades to reveal that she had a bit of make-up on; not too much, but enough to see that she was in fact wearing some. "Yeah, surprise you much?"

Even her voice seemed more soft and feminine. "Well… obviously. I just can't believe that…all this was a lie."

LX sighed. "Look, I know that this must be hard for you, but nothing really changes. We're still friends right? And there is a good reason why I was acting like a guy."

"Let's hear it then." I said, a little mad.

"Back when I started to do ranked battles, no one would take me seriously, just cause I was a girl. I would get the wins, but when I told everyone that I would make it to the highest rank, a lot of people laughed." She said, with sadness in her eyes. "So I pretended I was a guy so no one would laugh at me. Everything went great! I did what I wanted, and it felt great. I planned for everything to go back to normal."

Interesting story, if I must say. But things still aren't adding up. "Why didn't you?"

She shook her head. "I honestly don't know myself. But I guess it was because I met you." She explained. "I mean, who isn't going to get a little mad to see someone once and never see them again because they weren't real?"

I scratched my head. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad, just…" What was the word I was trying to look for? I wasn't mad or anything. But I wasn't happy either. "I'm just surprised. But you're right, no matter what, we're still friends, and I trust that everything we've said to each other was real."

She nodded. "It is, I swear."

I sighed, relieved. "That's great. Wait a minute…?"

"Yeah?"

Maybe it was just a saying. Surely _everything_ we said wasn't true. It can't be. "Does that mean that you still like me?"

She laughed. "Haha, yeah, of course." Her eyebrows picked up a second. "Oh yeah, I didn't answer you that last time." She stuck her hand out. "My name's Lexi. Now you know for sure."


	4. Things Take Another Weird Turn? Great

**I'm back with another part! Rejoice, as I will be busy getting myself to level 50 haha. Stay fresh~**

* * *

I couldn't say anything. What was there to say? I just stood there like an idiot, in disbelief. One of my friends just told me that she was a girl, and had feelings for me no less.

I slowly moved my hand over and shook hers. She felt like an entirely new person to me. Okay, yes, it was probably because she wasn't wearing her giant jacket that she usually wears, but still. But she was right, nothing really changed between us. We still had a genuine friendship going, and we had fun and everything. Yeah, she had, or rather, has, feelings for me, and I'll get back to that soon enough.

"You alright?" Lexi asked. "You seem a little spaced out."

I snapped back to reality. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? I know all of this is a bit sudden."

I shook my head. "I'm okay. I just need to think about all this. I'm...I might just head home."

Lexi sighed. "I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't expecting you to do something like that. Well regardless, it's fine. I was hoping to have a training partner, but that can wait."

"Thanks. Sorry about leaving you." I said, a little saddened.

She smiled a little bit. "Don't worry about it. So, you taking the train or you want me to walk you home?"

"I'll take the-" I stopped mid-sentence. No, I couldn't take the train. I could clearly see that Lexi is somewhat upset. I'll give her the satisfaction. "You can walk me home. Thanks."

She looked surprised. "Oh, great! I didn't expect you to say that! But I'm glad. Let's get going then."

* * *

I sort of regret saying that she can walk me home. It's awkward as hell now. But I guess I can use this time to talk to her. We're still friends.

"Soo...uh..."

She put her hand on my shoulder. "It's fine Michelle." Lexi said.

"I didn't even say anything yet!" I chuckled. "At least let me say what I was gonna say."

"Right, sorry."

"It's okay." I reassured her. "So, I think it's pretty cool that you went unnoticed as a girl this entire time. Even had me fooled haha!"

Lexi laughed along with me. "Heh, yeah, it wasn't that hard. Since I'm a decent size, and I have a small chest, all I had to do was stress my voice a bit and: ta-dah, I'm a boy."

I pointed at her. "So that's why you weren't really speaking when we first met! I thought you didn't like speaking to me or something dumb like that."

"No never!" She exclaimed. "I already told you that I like you."

Great. Now she did it. "Uhh, yeah...I kinda forgot haha."

Lexi shook her head. "Sorry about that. I shouldn't of brought that up right now."

I shook my head. "It's gonna come up again soon enough. Why not just talk about it while we can."

"So...does that mean that you still like me?" She asked softly.

I probably flailed a bit more than I should have. "Whoa whoa, I didn't think you'd ask that that fast." I calmed down a bit and took a deep breath. "Honestly, I don't know. I'm pretty sure that I don't like girls that way, but I've never been lucky with guys, so I wouldn't know either way. I'm probably gonna end up still liking you, but I don't exactly know."

She nodded. "Yeah, I understand. But hey, you've got to be glad about one thing."

"Yeah?" I asked curiously. "What's that?"

"That you didn't kiss me back at the restaurant that other day." She said laughing.

I began to blush madly. "Come on! Okay, yes, I'm a bit glad I didn't."

"A bit?"

"NOT A BIT." I yelled louder than I expected to. "It's not like I expected us to kiss on our first date." She began chuckling. "What?"

"So that was a date."

"OH MY GOD SHUT UP LEXI!" I snapped as I started hitting her arm, which wasn't fazing her at the least bit.

"Haha, sorry. I couldn't help myself. Well anyway, I've got a plan."

I stared at her, suspicious as to what she might say. "What kind of plan?"

"Give me your hand."

"Alright..." I said as I extended my hand.

"Okay," She said as she flipped my hand facing up, "now all we gotta do is...There."

"W-W-Wha! No no no!" I said as I blushed. "Why d-do you want to hold hands?!"

She smiled innocently. "Because I like you, duh. Plus, you said you didn't know if you like girls, so I'm helping you out."

"Yeah I don't know!" I tried moving my hand away, but man, she was gripping it a bit hard. "That doesn't mean we can hold hands!"

Lexi pouted. "Why not?"

I looked into her eyes, and I could see that she really does like me. I turned my head away from her so she wouldn't see me blushing. "Well, if you must insist on helping me, I guess holding hands isn't a bad place to start."

"Yay!" She exclaimed. "Thank you Michelle!"

"When did you get all girly?"

Lexi blushed. "Oh sorry, am I? I'm just happy. And I don't really have to hide my feelings around anymore."

I scratched my head with my free hand. "You mean you aren't going to go by LX anymore?"

She shook her head. "I don't have a reason to anyone. You found out, and that's all that matters to me."

I began to blush again. "If you keep saying stuff like that, I'm not gonna let you walk me home anymore."

"You don't mean that." She said as she leaned on me.

"Okay fine, I don't." I admitted. "But-"

"But what? That wasn't even supposed to be like a romantic thing. I was just saying I don't need to hide anymore."

Oh my god, I'm an idiot. "Oh. Sorry. I assumed it was a romantic thing."

"You're not really too experienced in these kinds of things are you?"

"I've never held hands with anyone." I told her. What does that tell you."

"Ooh, yeah." She agreed. "That is a little experience." So, how does holding hands with a girl feel then?"

The question made me think a bit. It wasn't really what I expected, but at the same time, I was. "Oddly enough...I like it. If feels nice, and I can definitely get used to it."

Lexi smiled. "So when is the kissing happening? I'm kidding of course."

I shook my head. "I doubt that I could even kiss right. And if you end up being my first kiss, I don't want you to make it a big deal."

"But it should be a big deal. It's your first kiss." She explained.

"Yeah. Okay fine. Maybe one day."

She leaned up and kissed my cheek. "Yes. One day very soon."

I jumped. "W-What was that for?!"

"You're home." She simply said as she pointed at my house.

"Ahem. I guess I am. So, that was a goodbye kiss then?"

She shrugged. "More or less. I know you're gonna be thinking about things, so I started out small." She opened her arms and gave me a hug. "See you tomorrow Michelle. You can message me whenever you want. I'm gonna go play a few matches."

"Bye Lexi." I said. "Thanks for coming along. It would have been pretty lonely by myself."

"Not a problem." She said as she waved at me.

I turned around and got my house keys from my pocket. I unlocked the door and opened it to find my brother standing at the doorway. "What was that just now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who was that girl you were with?"

"None of your business." I answered. "Now let me get to my room."

"So you're into squid girls now?" He asked. "Wait till mom hears about this."

I jumped. "Okay you little shrimp. Come on." I said as I grabbed his shirt and dragged him to my room. As soon as we got inside, in sat down on my bed and laid down. "Ugh, what do you want from me?"

"I want you to tell me who that was and why you were holding hands and kissing and stuff."

"Ughhh." I groaned. "Do I have to?"

"Unless you want me to tell mom, then yeah." He answered.

I rolled on my bed. "I don't wanna...Eh, fine. But you have to promise that you won't tell anyone."

He shrugged. "Alright, I don't see why though."

"Remember how you said LX was hiding something?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Well, that girl out there," I pointed to the window, "That was LX."

My brother looked really surprised. "What?! No way!"

I nodded. "Yeah, her name is Lexi."

"Wait, does that mean-"

"No Kyle." I interrupted him. "That doesn't mean that we're going to be going out."

"Figures. Have you thought about it though?" He asked.

I turned to face him. "Why would I think about it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. You really seemed to be happy when you went out on that date with her."

"I didn't know she was a girl!"

"Anyway," He continued, "What I'm saying is that you should think about it. I don't really care who you go out with, as long as you're happy or whatever." He said. I know he is trying to sound like it's not a bit deal to him, but I know he cares.

I got up off my bed and patted his head. "Thanks little bro. I'll make sure I think about it alright?"

"Yeah yeah, alright, but I told you to stop with the petting!" He said a bit annoyed. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"I know, but you know I do it cause I love you."

"You don't need to show it. You tell me like every so often." He said.

There was a ringing tone coming from the room. "Huh?" I looked around to find that it was coming from my watch. "What's this? I'm getting a notification."

"Yeah, me too." Kyle said also. "What's this about?"

"Let me see..." I said as I navigated my watch. "Ugh, this watch is so small. I'm checking my phone instead." I went on my phone and checked my emails. "Alright here we go. 'Attention all inklings: This is a very special announcement. Starting tomorrow, there are going to be big changes coming to our battles. The level cap is now going to be extended to level 50 with some new rules, two new ranks in ranked mode that include S and S+, 40 new pieces of clothing, and two new weapons! Also, a new Splatfest is on the way! That's all for now. Happy battling!'"

"Wow! This is great Michelle!" Kyle exclaimed. "That's a gang of new stuff!"

I sighed. "Level 50? Ughhh. That means that I'm gonna have to play matches constantly."

My brother shivered. "Eh, I remember how those days were. Constant yelling and headaches."

"Stop exaggerating!" I snapped. "Anyway, you're right, this is pretty cool. What else did it say? Two new ranks and new clothes?"

"New weapons too!" He added. "I wonder what they are."

"Yeah, me too." I agreed. "Alright little bro, I'm gonna need some me time."

He nodded. "Yeah sure cool. See you later Michelle." He said as he closed the door behind him.

Man, today and tomorrow are gonna be busy days for me aren't they? I'll be fine though, I'm sure. I'm just really surprised that Kyle would be okay with me dating a girl. I guess that shouldn't be too much of a surprise; he is my brother after all.

What do I do? I just can't leave Lexi hanging forever. I guess I could play along and see how it feels. But that wouldn't be right either I suppose. This decision has to come from me, not how I want her to feel. But I still want her to be happy.

Ugh! Why is this so hard? It isn't even really a hard decision!...I did like her even when she was dressed as a guy. That first date we went on was really nice. She even held back a kiss because she cared about how I would feel when I found out. And when she did tell me, she was cool about it. It wouldn't be so bad going out with her, even if I end up ending it if I don't like it. I've never even been with a guy, so what do I have to lose?

* * *

"Hey Judd. You could have told me that there were going to be improvements tomorrow!" I told him.

"Meow. (Then it wouldn't have been a surprise. You might have told everyone.)" He answered.

I chuckled. "You know that's a lie."

So yeah, I ended up walking back to Inkopolis. Figures.

"Meow! (Oh Michelle, I want to show you something!)" He said as he got a tablet from behind him.

"Yeah, what's that?" I asked curiously.

"Meow. (It's this girl. Her name is...Ah, here it is. Lexi.)"

Lexi? What could Judd be going on about? "What about her?"

"Mrow. (Look for yourself. It's tower control.)" He said as he handed me the tablet. "Meow. (She's tearing through everyone in this ranked battle. I haven't really seen anyone move like that since LX.)"

I looked at the screen. Judd was right. Lexi was moving unbelievably fast with her Luna Blaster. She ran towards the middle of Walleye Warehouse and planted a mine at a very odd place. But soon enough, someone from the opposite team activated it and got him. As she went towards their home base, she avoided majority of the shots aimed at her.

"Meow! (Oh, look at this. She might do what I think.)"

There was an enemy in front of her with a Squiffer; there was no way that she could get out alive. But she kept running straight toward him. She then aimed her blaster down at the ground and jumped. The blast of the jump carried her higher and also made a makeshift smokescreen. The enemy looked around to find that she was gone. But she was, in fact, right behind him. She said something that I couldn't hear, because the tablet didn't have sound, and the enemy turned around, but he found the do anything to defend himself.

"Meow. (This girl is a monster. She knows how to use those weapons to their fullest potential. And for being only a B rank, I could see her gunning for the S and S+ ranks tomorrow."

"Wait, did you say B?" I asked.

He nodded. "Meow? (Yeah, why?)"

"My friend said she was a B-."

"Meow. (She was, but she's been winning every single match so far.)" The buzzer went off. "Mrow. (And that's another one minute knockout for you.)"

I was shocked. "One minute, are you kidding me?!"

Lexi came running to Judd. "I want another match please." She looked at me. "Oh, hey Michelle!" She looked back at Judd before looking at me again. "Michelle?! What are you doing here?"

"Meow? (You know her Michelle?)" Judd asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, she's..." I took a deep breath. This was my chance. "She's my girlfriend. Don't you tell anyone Judd."

"Meow. (No problem. Nice catch by the way.)"

I looked over at Lexi to find her standing there, shocked. "Uhh...yeah, that's right Judd." She went over to me. "Seriously Michelle?"

"Mhm." I said while smiling.

Why did I say that, and what did I get myself into this time?


End file.
